On 10/02/2008 05:59 PM, John Jason Jordan wrote: > On Thu, 02 Oct 2008 20:02:07 -0400 > "H.S." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> dijo: > >> NoOp wrote: >> > I don't know... "I have several thousand books to catalog" sounds like a >> > job for an oss library package to me. I doubt that a library with >> > "several thousand books" would attempt to catalog simply via OOo and >> > Zotero; and gmu.edu probably would recommend the same. >> >> Ah, didn't notice that he was going to deal with that many books. In >> fact, I am not sure if there is any easy way to get those books one by >> one in any application! Perhaps there is a way for him to export the >> bibliography that he already has in a format that Zotero can understand >> and import. This would be the easiest method. >> >> Koha, IIRC, can import some library catalog formats. I am no libraries, >> but it appears that if he can export or convert this pre-existing >> database to Marc21, he can import that in to Koha. >> >> But perhaps I am missing OP's point here. If all he wants to do is >> create and maintain a catalog, then perhaps Koha will be appropriate. >> But I understood his request as building a bibliography database to >> interact with a word processor. I don't Koha does that ... but I could >> be wrong here. :) > > Thanks to both H.S. and NoOp for the suggestions and commentary. Some > additional facts may help. > > I do have several thousand books which I own. Ultimately I want to have > them all in a database/catalog of some sort. Almost all have an ISBN > number, and Zotero can use the ISBN number to look up the information > for the book. Then all I have to do is add it to my library. It will > take a while, but all I have to type in is the ISBN number. > > As for existing databases, I started a few months ago with Alexandria, > which also has an internet lookup feature, so I could do essentially > the same thing - just enter the ISBN and let Alexandria find the book > and enter the details. However, I entered only about 40 books and then > my life got sidetracked. > > A couple weeks ago I installed and tried Tellico. It is very similar in > functionality to Alexandria, but I like it a bit better - it seems to > have better lookup capabilities. However, I entered only a couple dozen > books. > > Now I am trying Zotero. Note that what I am doing is experimenting for > the best solution for my situation. Since I do not yet have a database > I can use any of them. Zotero has the advantage of being web based, so > I can access my database from someone else's computer. More > importantly, there is an OOo plugin for it. > > And that brings me to my motivations. One purpose is just to keep track > of what I have. A few months ago I ordered a book I needed for a class, > only to discover after it arrived that I already had a copy. That was > stupid. Please don't tell the university, lest they revoke the degree > they already gave me. > > My other purpose is to handle bibliographies for papers that I need to > write for classes. And that's where the plugin promises to be really > handy (but more about that in another post). > > Thanks again for the suggestions. I still have some issues with the > Zotero plugin, but I'll post about them separately.
JJJ, you have the equivalent of a small public library... Zotero may work in the end (I hope so). But the fact that you even tried to do this in Tellico makes me wonder if you realize the task that you are up against. Were I you; I'd hire a student assistant (a 1st or 2nd year so that he/she will be around for some time) that is well versed in both databases and library cataloging; perhaps a student that is studying library science. Have that 'hire' set up a well tested oss library package (I'd recommend koha, I've not tried others and am certainly not well versed in these applications so ask the folks that run your OSU libraries for advise) on a dedicated database server (your home?) using a fully database application & server. MySQL is free, Apache is free, koha is free, etc., etc. You can easily install the bulk of those on your existing Ubuntu system simply by installing the LAMP server software - if you need added info on how to do that drop me a note off-list. While you're at it place non-destructive bar code stickers (or better yet RFID stickers) in each book so that 2 years later you'll be able to find and identify & inventory a book in your library with a standard bar code or RFID scanner. It makes no sense to inventory (sorry, librarians call that cataloging) a library of that size by hand and later have no ability to re-inventory/catalog what you have done in the past. Further face the fact that if you loan out a book to a student or colleague (or yourself), with a collection like that you really do need to apply the same database tracking etc., as a small library. Loan a book to M. Henri; forget the fact that he's on the other side of the world (waves to M. Henri), but how do you account for the book checked out of your personal library? How do you remember who you loaned it to, when you expect it back, how much you are going to charge M. Henri for late return, where do you put the book back after it's returned and how do you easily record that the book has been returned and is back on it's proper shelf/location? Entering 40 or so of a several thousand book collection via Zotero & OOo seems to me to be a complete waste of your time. --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
